ESPN's third base rankings give Royals' Maikel Garcia long-awaited national respect

For someone like Maikel Garcia, the game of baseball is simple. Put the bat on the ball. Nothing more, nothing less. That’s been his calling card since his early days in the Royals system. He's always been blessed with elite hand-eye coordination at the plate and in the field.

In 2025, he put it all together, setting career-highs in nearly every offensive category. It wasn't just the fact that he raised his OPS 187 points. He cut his K-rate and raised his Walk-rate well over his career averages.

Previously known as a contact-only bat, he now has patience and some pop to go with it. He slugged a career-high .449 and more than doubled his previous career-high in homers.

The rest of the league finally learned his name last season as he stepped into the limelight and made a name for himself on the big stage. He made his first All-Star game and won his first Gold Glove at third base.

However, attention from the national media seemed to lag behind this winter, as Garcia was a notable omission from numerous high-profile lists and rankings.

However, perhaps now all eyes are on him nationally after he received some high praise from one of MLB’s most prominent voices in ESPN's Buster Olney, who ranked Garcia within the top five third baseman in all of baseball.

ESPN’s Buster Olney ranks Garcia highly among MLB third basemen

A virtual unknown outside of Kansas City, Maikel Garcia's name is ringing bells with the four-letter network now.

Olney is ranking the top-10 players at every position, and when it comes to third basemen, Garcia ranked fifth with only José Ramírez, Junior Caminero, Alex Bregman, and Manny Machado being ranked ahead of the Royals' franchise cornerstone.

"Last year was a breakout season for the Kansas City infielder, who had 60 extra-base hits among 170 for the season, with an OPS+ of 123," Olney wrote. "Ke'Bryan Hayes is generally considered to be the best defender at this position, but Garcia led AL third basemen in defensive runs saved with 13 and in outs above average at 18, winning the AL Gold Glove Award."

That was last year. Now, he has to prove that it wasn't just a flash in the pan

Garcia wasn't giving a ton of confidence heading into the 2025 season. After a promising rookie campaign, he regressed in 2024, slashing .231/.281/.332 carrying a .614 OPS and a 71 wRC+.

A swing adjustment and an adjustment in approach fueled a season that would make the Royals back up the Brinks truck for the 25-year-old Venezuelan.

He signed a five-year, $57.5 million deal this December, keeping him in Royal blue until 2030 with a club option for 2031.

Garcia is a top candidate to lead off for the Royals this season, so he will need an encore performance if he wants to end the regular season with their ticket punched for October.